Yesterday (January 10), Governor Henry McMaster released his Executive Budget Proposal, as well as his recommendations for how to spend the state’s American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds.
Reminder: These are just proposals made by the Governor. They are not final, nor are they law. The Legislature writes the budget ultimately.
Executive Budget
Read the full Executive Budget Proposal >>
Recurring funding for the arts remained level in the Governor’s FY23 budget proposal at just over $5 million in state funds. This continues a trend for the Governor who has not proposed cuts to the arts in his Executive Budgets since taking office. It is important to note that Gov. McMaster has also not vetoed any increases in arts funding approved by the Legislature, except for during his first budget cycle in 2017, which was overridden.
The Governor did include a one-time increase of $450,000 to the SC Arts Commission in his proposal for earmarks. If you’ve followed the Statehouse the last couple of years, earmarks (direct state funds to individual entities) have been a target as of late. In an effort to propose reforms to this practice, in his FY2023 budget, the Governor proposes $13.7 million be set aside for these types of special projects, with various agencies receiving a portion of these funds. The agencies are then directed to create a grants committee and select projects to be awarded funding from these pots of money.
Bottom Line: Arts funding technically went up $450,000, but it’s not for statewide funding – that funding stayed flat.
ARPA Funding
Read the press release >>
See the full slide deck (ARPA on slide 24) >>
The state has received $2.5 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) signed into law back in March of 2021. Back in the summer of 2021, the Governor reactivated AccelerateSC (a group of advisors made of business, government, and education leaders) to develop recommendations on how to allocate these funds. AccelerateSC had also developed re-opening guidelines and recommendations on how to spend the state’s CARES Act money in 2020. AccelerateSC released their recommendations in August and included a $50 million nonprofit grant program, however it was limited in scope (arts not eligible) and managed by DSS.
The Governor’s recommendations do not include any nonprofit grant program. You can read his full list here. The Governor’s recommendations do not include much detail into the “how, why, and when” for each item. However, one item of interest to monitor for the arts is investments in “Tourism Recovery Initiatives” ($50 million) – while these funds most likely will go to Parks, Recreation, and Tourism for destination marketing efforts and state parks, there may be room for arts groups once final details are released.
$100 Million for Nonprofits Proposed by Together SC
Our friends at Together SC are leading the charge on advocating for $100 million out of ARPA funds to be invested in the work of nonprofits across the state through the Department of Commerce. Visit their website to take action – and sign on to this letter of support by January 21!
